Charlie
by news for parrots
Summary: You never know what will happen when you reach out and help someone. All done.
1. Chapter 1

Charlie

Summary: You never know what will happen when you reach out and help someone.  
Disclaimer: nothing is mine. Except this orange juice. Mmm…juicy.  
a/n: let's say set in the fourth season. part 1/2

* * *

"Hiya Charlie," Olivia said as she entered her apartment, "anything good on?" 

"Nah, I'm watching Dawson's Creek 'til Crossing Jordan comes on."

"Ugh, Dawson's Creek?" Liv laughed, "How can you watch that rubbish?"

"Rubbish?"

"Sorry. It's the English equivalent of-"

"Enough about these English people!" she'd heard about nothing but these English nuts for the past week. "Are they ever going to go home?"

"Better not as long as we suspect them of the running that club for pedophiles. We're so close…" Liv's voice trailed off as she went into the kitchen, ostensibly for a beer, but really for a moment to count to ten. Living with Charlie could be a little more than frustrating. She was just so closed-minded when it came to foreigners, among other things.

"Okay, well, just stop picking up their little idiosyncrasies, okay?" Charlie yelled at the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" Liv said patiently, coming back in with a beer. She sat down on the couch next to her for-the-moment roommate.

"You pick up all their little dialect ticks, like 'rubbish' and 'plait' and 'heaps'."

"Now, 'heaps' was from that New Zealander."

"Whatever, same thing. You're just like a friend I had in middle school. She had this English girl staying at her home, and after a couple days, she was using all these crazy words. And after two weeks she'd even developed a bit of an accent."

"Developed? Sounds like you think that's a bad thing."

"No…not really. It just bothered me."

"And now it's bothering you again."

"I just, I didn't know what she was saying all the time. That bothered me." They were both silent for a bit.

"Why aren't you still friends with that girl from middle school?"

"She moved away."

"And?"

"And cuz she wouldn't stop talking funny."

"Sometimes you're very strange." Liv decided to let it go; she didn't feel like a full out fight with this girl right now. But damned if she wasn't taking Charlie out to expose her to some other cultures. Tuning out the TV, she considered the teenager sitting next to her. Charlie was a good girl, certainly with a different philosophy than Liv, but still a bright girl. She was reasonably well-read; she'd gone to good schools. But when her rebellion struck at 15, it had hit hard. Charlie had fallen in with the wrong crowd, got into drugs and either dropped out or got kicked out of school, that part wasn't clear. The next part of the story changed depending on Charlie's mood, swinging from waitressing to prostitution, but she'd eventually ended up on a bizarre road trip that took her from Denver all the way into a tree in New York City.

* * *

Olivia had gotten involved by accident. She'd been in the waiting room, waiting for her turn to speak with a rape victim. Charlie was three chairs over, obviously young and pregnant, and crying her heart out. Olivia couldn't help herself, 

"_Here," she offered the girl a box of tissues._

"_Thanks," the girl managed, then wiped her face down and blew her nose. Liv pulled a garbage can over as she sat._

"_Is the baby okay?" The girl nodded. _

"_Doctor says he's fine." Liv relaxed just a bit._

"_Why are you here?" Up close, the girl had many little cuts and scratches on her; she had stitches on her forehead._

"_I was in a car accident. Brandon, he …he drove us into a tree." Millions of questions wanted to escape Liv all at once, but she kept herself calm,_

"_Why did he do that?"_

"_He was mad at me. It was my fault."_

"_Why was it your fault?"_

"_I was flirting with the waiter; and I was doing it on purpose. It was just to get back at him for going to that strip club," the girl's eyes begged with Olivia to understand, "When we came out of the restaurant Brandon asked me if I'd had fun making a fool out of him. I got angry, and we fought all the way back to the car. We were still fighting when all of a sudden he just turned the car and ran into a tree. And now he's going to die! And it's my fault! If only I hadn't-" she started to sob anew._

"_Shhhh, it's okay. The accident wasn't your fault." Liv rubbed the girl's back._

"_Yes it was! If I hadn't gotten him angry he wouldn't have driven into that tree."_

"_Do you grab the wheel and turn the car into the tree?"_

"_No."_

"_No, you didn't. It was Brandon who was driving, and it was Brandon who lost control and it was Brandon who drove you both into that tree. It's Brandon's fault that he's in the hospital, not yours."_

"_But…"_

"_No buts."_

_The girl's crying had slowed; Liv continued rubbing circles on her back. Both were silent for a while._

"_What's your name?"_

"_Charlie. Well, Charlotte, but call me Charlie." Liv smiled at her as a man approached._

"_Ms. Benson, your patient is ready." Liv thanked the nurse._

"_Your patient? You're a doctor?"_

"_No, I'm a cop, Special Victims. Here," Liv handed her a couple of cards, "this is my card, call if you need anything. And these are numbers you can call if you need some support. I have to leave you now. Are you going to be okay?"_

"_I'm a little better now. Thanks." Charlie gave her a small smile.

* * *

_

_Later that week, Liv had been having a nice, quiet evening at home for once when there was a buzz at the door._

"_Who is it?" she asked over the intercom._

"_Um, Ms. Benson? It's Charlie, I'm not sure if you remember me...from the hospital?"_

"_Of course I remember you."_

"_Oh good." Charlie didn't say anything else._

"_You still there Charlie?"_

"_Uh, yeah."_

"_Do you want to come up?"_

"_Yes, but I need help."_

"_Um, okay. I'll be right down."_

_Liv had found Charlie smiling hesitantly in the building's foyer, along with a large suitcase. _

"_The doctor said I can't lift anything too heavy right now. You don't have an elevator, do you?" _

"_No, I don't. Why do you have a suitcase?" Charlie looked away, _

"_His family turned me away and left, said they had no place for his whore." Charlie started to cry. Liv took a deep breath and dove in,_

"_Come on, it's only three floors up."

* * *

_

TBC...  



	2. Chapter 2

a/n: and now part 2.

* * *

What had started out as 'a couple of nights' was going on three weeks. Charlie had a little money saved up, mostly for the birth, but she'd insisted on giving Liv what she could to help with the bills. Liv fought her, but when Charlie wouldn't give up, she'd taken it. She'd just replaced it in Charlie's suitcase later. They'd left it at that. Liv was trying to get used to living with someone again, but it was hard for her. She become accustomed to her home being a quiet respite from the crazy world she dealt with every day. Now she had Charlie to liven things up for her. She looked over at Charlie. Charlie was crying. 

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you crying?"

"Oh," Charlie wiped her cheeks, blushing.

"Man, you really like this show."

"No I don't!"

"Is Crossing Jordan even on after this?" Liv grabbed for the remote, but Charlie played keep away. So she grabbed the nachos instead.

"Hey! Get your own."

"These are mine." Liv pointed out, smiling.

"Okay, you've got me there." Charlie conceded, "But still, give 'em back!" Charlie gave her the puppy dog eyes and pouted until Liv gave in and threw the bag back at the younger woman.

"That look should be a registered weapon."

* * *

_Shortly after Charlie moved into Liv's apartment:  
_

"You are crazy, you know that." Alex informed her. Liv nodded, blowing on her hot chocolate.

"Seems to be the general consensus."

"You don't even know this girl, and you let her stay in your home."

"I trust her. I really don't think she's trying to take advantage of me."

"What do you know about her?"

"That she's a long way from home and needs a friend."

"And there's no way I can convince you to put her in temporary foster care? Or even a hotel?"

"No, she trusts me, and I trust my gut. She's seven and a half months pregnant and needs _someone_. I'm not letting her down."

"What about the father?"

"He's out of the picture. He was paralyzed after the car accident, and his family made it no secret they had no interest in her. She's better off without them, from what she's told me."

"So what happens after the baby is born?"

"I don't know."

* * *

"I called my mom today." Charlie said from the kitchen.

"Good for you. How did it go?" Liv smiled, 'took you long enough though.'she thought.

"Better than I expected, really. She says she's just happy I'm safe and wants me to come home." Liv exhaled a long breath as a weight lifted off her shoulders. She'd had no idea what to do after the baby was born, and was immensely relieved when the solution presented itself. 'You are so lucky that girl has one very understanding mother' she could hear Alex's voice say in her head.

"Did you tell her about the baby?" She asked Charlie.

"Yeah, I did. She said she'd expected that. And I got mad and hung up on her."

"Oh. I don't think she meant it that way."

"And when I calmed down neither did I, so I called her back. She demanded to have your phone number, so I hope you don't mind that I gave it to her." Liv shook her head. "Mom explained that she was pretty sure that I'd run away because I was pregnant. See, she'd found a home pregnancy test, sorta tipped her off. Having children in wedlock was the one thing that my dad was fervent about. I knew I couldn't kill the baby, so I left. She said she would have done the same thing."

"Is she okay that you're not coming home right away?"

"Oh, she understands. 'You keep your feet on the ground, or at least comfortably rested, until that baby is born.' She said." Liv was liking this woman more and more. "Although I'm half expecting her to walk through that door any day now."

"What about your dad?"

"He doesn't know yet. I'd always planned on giving the baby up, so I could just go home like nothing happened. But the longer I'm pregnant, the more I fall in love with this little guy. I don't think I can give him up. So I guess I'm hoping that bringing home a cute little grandson will win him over. Hope he won't be too mad." Silence descended over the table.

"I'm going to miss this, having someone cook for me." Liv said, trying to brighten the mood.

"Well, enjoy it while you can. Doc says I've got another three weeks to go." Charlie responded, happy to go along with her.

"Everything's good?" Liv asked as she heaped her plate full of spaghetti.

"Yep, everything is good." Sometimes having a roommate wasn't such a bad thing.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Oh, hello. My name is Cynthia Peterson, I'm Charlie's mother. Is this Olivia?"

"Yes, hello, how are you?"

"I'm okay, although I was starting to think you were a myth."

"Excuse me?"

"Charlie's been telling me all these wonderful things about you, but you're never home when I call. Your job is lucky to have you." Olivia laughed.

"Did you want to speak to Charlie?"

"Always. But since I have you, I need to thank you for taking her in. She's so lucky you found her. Any compensation you need, just name your price."

"I don't need anything but to know that she's okay. I'm glad she has a loving family to go back to."

"And you are always welcome to join us. Very few people would do what you've done. You're very special."

* * *

"Cap," Liv stuck her head in his office, "that was Charlie, she's gone into labour."

"Go. Tell her we all wish her well."

* * *

"Liv!" Charlie greeted her as she walked in. Liv smiled warmly at her,

"How are we doing?"

"At this point, full of painkillers, and the contractions aren't too close together yet. Doc thinks I've got a while to go yet."

"She's right on schedule," said a woman entering the room, with two cups of coffee, "you must be Olivia." She said as she handed Liv a cup of black coffee. Liv nodded.

"Thank you, Cynthia?" Cynthia smiled. "How was your flight?"

"Fine, and you have a lovely apartment, what little that I saw of it. My luggage is scattered in your doorway, just to warn you. I walked in and found her rubbing her lower back, saying it'd been hurting all day. We just packed her stuff up and headed right over here."

"I'm glad you did, I wouldn't have been home for hours."

* * *

Several hours and much yelling later, Olivia was out in the hallway gingerly poking her other hand. The yelling continued in the other room.

"How's it going in there?" Liv spun around, surprised.

"Alex! Where'd you come from?"

"Well, I call it a door. It's rectangle shaped, there's one right there." Liv just stared at her. "You stood me up; I called Elliot to find out why."

"Stood you up…dinner! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot."

"I know, I know, it's okay. Good excuse, by the way." Further apologies were cut off by a baby's wail. Cynthia soon appeared in the doorway,

"Come in, come in!"

"Is everything okay?" Liv asked.

"Everything's great." Cynthia beamed. Liv and, with a little prodding, Alex entered the room to find mother staring at her son with a big grin on her face.

"He's perfect."

"He's got all his digits?"

"All accounted for."

"He's adorable."

"What's his name?" Olivia asked

"William Oliver Peterson." Charlie announced. Olivia blushed,

"You didn't have to do that."

"What? Name my first-born after you? It was the least I could do. I can never repay you Olivia for all you did, but you can let me try."

"And William's his grandfather's name." Cynthia supplied, "let's see if that appeases the man."

* * *

Two weeks later Cynthia, Charlie and baby Oliver boarded a train out of New York.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

"So am I. You take good care of my godson."

"Always."

* * *

The End :)  



End file.
